Court Backs Restart Of Undamaged Tmi Reactor

August 28, 1985|By United Press International

PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court Tuesday opened the way for Three Mile Island's undamaged Unit 1 reactor to restart. The reactor has been dormant since the near meltdown of its twin unit more than six years ago.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2 to 1 decision, rejected a petition that it review the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's May 29 order allowing the reactor to be restarted. It ruled Congress had given the NRC responsibility to decide nuclear safety issues.

A spokesman for an anti-nuclear group, TMI Alert Inc., said it would appeal the decision by the three-judge panel to the full appeals court.

A spokesman for Gov. Dick Thornburgh, who also opposed restarting Unit 1, said the governor would not comment until after he reviews the decision.

Anti-nuclear activists planned to demonstrate at the plant's main gate Tuesday night. About 80 people were arrested at a peaceful demonstration at the plant in May after the NRC decision.

The plant's operator, GPU-Nuclear, would not discuss its security plans.

The court ruling said orders by the NRC ''may not be overturned unless . . . arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.''

''We conclude that the May 29, 1985, order is not arbitrary, capricious or contrary to law,'' it said, adding that the agency ''exercised its authority reasonably and in accordance with law.''

A spokesman for GPU's parent company, General Public Utilities Corp., said Tuesday the restart would require revised technical data and would be a ''very slow and deliberate process.''

The reactor was shut down for refueling and routine maintenance before the accident at the Unit 2 reactor March 28, 1979. It was the worst accident ever at a commercial nuclear plant.

The court, in its 68-page decision, pointed to years of hearings concerning the safety of the reactor.